| Country music is on fire. It is a blazing house. |
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What's the Rock Hall got to do with it? Tina Turner at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, March 16, 1979.
(David Redfern/Redferns/Getty Images)
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“Country music is on fire. It is a blazing house.”
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Andrea Williams, Nashville journalist, during a Bandier Program panel about race and the music industry
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Tell Me Something Good
Wait, what, they nominated seven women for the ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME (11 if you count the GO-GO'S as five women, which they are)? They nominated four Black women? They nominated FELA? And, wait, did you say the Go-Go's? They nominated three pioneering acts from three different parts of the musical spectrum who have a combined total of zero US chart hits, one of whom is, wait, did you say Fela?!?
Please excuse me while I wait for my head to stop spinning, 24 hours later, from the best Rock Hall of Fame ballot in years if not decades, a ballot that suggests someone in the Cleveland institution that's based in New York has decided to listen to years if not decades of complaints about inequities and imbalances on the institution's walls. Representation matters. Listening matters. For the first time in memory, this year's induction ceremony might matter to people who have heretofore felt excluded from the party.
Whether it actually does, as always, is in the hands of the Hall's thousand-ish voters, who haven’t always been as open to the full rainbow of pop music as the much smaller nominating committee is. By my count, there are roughly one and a half locks in 2021: JAY-Z, who's a kind of hip-hop classic rocker, and FOO FIGHTERS, who are a music supervisor's ideal classic rocker and who, with all due respect to the talented and genuinely good human who leads them, don't need a plaque now or anytime soon. But the vote could go something like, oh, Jay, Foos, TODD RUNDGREN, the Go-Go's and the NEW YORK DOLLS, and a handful of the same old people would be thrilled and a few million of everybody else would wonder why they ever thought they should care. Please don't do that, voters.
All 16 nominees are worthy. They always are. The nom com, no matter who's on it, has ears. But this year those ears got especially big and generous. The Go-Go's ("We are the first all-girl band that wrote their own material and played their own instruments to be really successful") were a punk-inspired pop band who really did change the world. CAROLE KING, already in the Hall as half of the King-Goffin songwriting team, went on to become one of the great '70s singer-songwriters and a godmother to scores of songwriters-turned-artists across countless genres today. Her nomination came on the 50th anniversary of the release of this. TINA TURNER's already enshrined, too, as half of a performing team with a husband whose name was "synonymous with domestic abuse." She freed herself from him in 1975. Voters can give her—and pop-rock classics like this—her own space, again, in 2021. (See also: Turner's spiritual descendant MARY J. BLIGE, who'll be at the top of the ballot, alphabetically.)
Fela Kuti, the NY Times' BEN SISARIO informs us, would be the second African in the Rock Hall. The first was South African TREVOR RABIN, inducted with prog-rockers YES. As the king of Afrobeat (singular; add an "s" to the end and you're in a different world in a different century, though you'll still be in Nigeria), Fela created a mesmerizing, continent-shaking, polyrhythmic dance music out of strands of DNA from JAMES BROWN, American jazz and traditional Nigerian music. As a fearless anti-government activist, he was more of a rock and roll spirit than anyone else on this ballot, metal gods IRON MAIDEN included. Iron Maiden would be a good choice, too.
Over to you, voters. And shoutout our friend JOHN SYKES and his crew at the Rock Hall. This is the first ballot on his watch. A-plus.
It's Cold in This House
During a Zoom panel Wednesday afternoon on the MORGAN WALLEN affair and the deep, systemic issues it has exposed, manager/publisher TIM BLACKSMITH and journalist ANDREA WILLIAMS had some suggestions for what Wallen could do right now. Blacksmith said Wallen, who had been invisible since he was caught on video yelling the N-word outside his house 11 days ago, could talk to his fans directly. Williams said he could tell them "he's OK with the punishment; he's OK doing the work." An hour after the panel, which was open to the public and got at least some attention in real time on TWITTER, ended, Wallen did exactly that, breaking his silence with a raw, homemade INSTAGRAM video. He apologized at some length, said he had been drunk, and asked his fans to stop defending him: "Please don't. I was wrong." Wallen didn't announce any intention to donate royalties from his second album, which has been #1 in the country for four weeks, to charity, as had also been suggested. But earlier in the day, JASON ISBELL, whose "COVER ME UP" Wallen covers, said he would do that with his own earnings.
If he is to reclaim his career, Wallen has a long way to go. But more important, so does the music industry. The panel discussion, hosted by the BANDIER PROGRAM's BILL WERDE, was pointedly not about Wallen. It was about the country community and the music business in general. It was about the centuries of ugly history before any of us got here, about education and accountability, about jobs and mentorship, and about the considerable time it may take to begin healing. And though it wasn't about one man, you walked away understanding that, apology or not, one man has a lot of work to do himself and his music shouldn't be anywhere near the radio for a long while to come. It's going to take some time. It has to take some time. Don't try to rush it. Please don't.
Dot Dot Dot
AUDIOMACK, the hip-hop-heavy free streaming service whose user base is almost entirely under 34 years old, has started reporting its numbers to BILLBOARD's charts, including the HOT 100 and BILLBOARD 200. Audiomack's VANESSA WILKINS says that will help "certify the achievements of countless artists whose previous success has never been represented fairly and accurately"... The sale of TIKTOK's US operations to ORACLE and WALMART (remember when that was front page news?) is off, at least for now, and the US government, under PRESIDENT BIDEN, is no longer demanding it happen (paywall)... SONY/ATV has rebranded as SONY MUSIC PUBLISHING... The much-debated BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN JEEP commercial, "The Middle," was pulled from the internet three days after debuting during the SUPER BOWL. The reason: The Boss is facing a DWI charge stemming from a November arrest. But the particulars of the charge are murky. Also unknown for now: whether he was driving a Jeep.
Rest in Peace
WAYLON JENNINGS drummer RICHIE ALBRIGHT.
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| Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator |
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Africa is a Country |
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| RETRO MUST READ: It's time to return Africa's vinyl records |
| by Vik Sohonie |
| While calls are made to return the bronze statues of Benin and the masks of Cabinda, one of the most powerful artifacts from the African continent, which lines the shelves of private collectors in rich countries, has not figured in demands: physical recordings of African music from independence onwards, large catalogs of which are no longer on the continent. |
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CNN |
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| Phoebe Bridgers, from a whisper to a scream |
| by Christiane Amanpour |
| With a new album, four Grammy nominations and a breakthrough performance on SNL, Singer Songwriter Phoebe Bridgers is having a smashing success. |
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Vulture |
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| All of the 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees, Ranked |
| by Bill Wyman |
| Who’s most deserving of induction this year? And who should maybe just wait? |
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Vulture |
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| The Worst Snubs in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame History (So Far) |
| by Joe Kwaczala |
| In light of this week’s nominees, here are the artists most deserving of Rock Hall induction who somehow have never been nominated. |
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Variety |
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| As Streaming Dominates the Music World, Is Radio’s Signal Fading? |
| by Geoff Mayfield |
| From the launch of television in the 1940s through the advent of MTV in 1981 and multiple threats from shiny new technologies, radio has survived many challenges to its business. But can the medium navigate competition from streaming? |
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Los Angeles Times |
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| Pin-up looks, rabid fans, non-English lyrics: Is CNCO the next world-conquering boy band? |
| by Suzy Exposito |
| Formed, like One Direction, on a TV reality show, boy band CNCO has a new album of Latin pop covers and a trail blazed by BTS to follow in the U.S. |
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Stereogum |
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| Pooh Shiesty Is Already A Star |
| by Tom Breihan |
| There’s a possibility that Gucci Mane is the greatest A&R guy in rap history. |
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VICE |
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| Cassette Tapes Are Making a Comeback in Japan |
| by Hanako Montgomery |
| At the heart of the trend are members of Gen Z, many of whom were not even alive when cassette tapes filled record stores. |
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The Tennessean |
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| Morgan Wallen asks fans to not defend him after racial slur: 'I fully accept any penalties I'm facing' |
| by Matthew Leimkuehler |
| After the video ignited publish backlash, Wallen said he took meetings with "some amazing Black organizations." |
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The Forty-Five |
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| The 45 best hyperpop songs of all time |
| by Sophie Walker |
| When it comes to hyperpop, the question is: how many crimes against music can you commit? Born of the internet on dark mode, hyperpop is all the sugary sweet appeal of mainstream pop but soaked in steroids - a garish reflection of the all-you-can-eat hunger of the material world. |
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MTV News |
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| Finding Friends -- Maybe Even Lovers -- Through Music-Sharing Apps |
| by Larisha Paul |
| Musicpals, SameTunes, and other playlist-sharing functions are keeping fans connected during a time of unprecedented isolation. |
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Midia Research |
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| New artists, does it pay to be streaming first? |
| by Keith Jopling |
| Many are realising that the ‘build it and they will come’ approach to making music is yesterday’s model and, with no vehicle to connect the music with fans through performance, the scope to get creative with other mediums and content has never been wider. |
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NPR Music |
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| The Hidden Legacy Of The Pointer Sisters, Genre-Busting Pioneers Of Message Music |
| by Tammy Kernodle |
| With roots in gospel and a radical spirit of resistance, The Pointer Sisters reformulated the girl group for an era of self-actualization and Black power, scoring a massive run of hits along the way. |
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The Ringer |
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| Seven Threads From 'Tapestry': Carole King's Masterpiece 50 Years Later |
| by Elizabeth Nelson |
| Half a century ago, Carole King—one of the great songwriters of the ’60s—emerged from behind the scenes and stepped into the spotlight to record one of the most popular albums of all time. Decades later, we still can’t get it out of our heads. |
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The Guardian |
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| Ex-employee files race discrimination claim against R&S Records |
| by Aamna Mohdin |
| Music label denies Raj Chaudhuri’s allegations and is considering defamation claim. |
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5 Magazine |
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| Amy Douglas is a singer, songwriter & professional bad influence |
| by Harold Heath |
| Her lyrics and voice have turned many a producer's decent track into an anthem and that process - from her being sent a track through to writing lyrics and melodies to bring it to life - is a little-discussed corner of dance music magic, one that happens so often that we've become immune to its wonders. |
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DJ Mag |
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| How J Dilla distilled Detroit techno on 'Welcome 2 Detroit' track, 'B.B.E.' |
| On the eve of the 15th anniversary of J Dilla's death, BBE have released a special edition of his debut album, 'Welcome 2 Detroit' pressed over 12 discs. |
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Variety |
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| Kiss’ Paul Stanley on How Musicians Can Stay Fit for When Touring Returns |
| by Jem Aswad |
| Nothing keeps a performer in shape like performing. But in the absence of a regular touring regimen — and with no confirmed dates for a return to the road in sight — how do middle-aged musicians keep their voices and physiques fit? |
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The Guardian |
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| No drone unturned: tracing the sound that unites ancient and modern |
| by Harry Sword |
| From primitive instruments and sacred chants to today’s minimalist electronica and metal, drone music has a long and mystical history. A new book investigates. |
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Wax Poetics |
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| RETRO READ: Hip-hop luminaries at the legendary Roosevelt Hotel Record Convention |
| by John Carraro |
| Record dealer John Carraro reflects on introducing old music to the likes of Pete Rock, Q-Tip, Busta Rhymes, Large Professor, Buckwild, Diamond D, Prince Be, Mr. Walt, and DJ Clark Kent, among others. |
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Stereogum |
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| Singles Only: 22 Great Songs By Artists Who Never Made An Album |
| by Nate Patrin |
| They might’ve released EPs. They could have enough great singles to fill a two-disc compilation. Or they had a one-and-done flash of promise that never led to bigger or better things. |
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From "Expensive S***" (1975).
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| Video of the day |
| "The Go-Go's (2020)" |
| Showtime |
| Watch this and then try, just try, not to vote for them. |
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YouTube |
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Watch this and then try, just try, not to vote for them.
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| Music | Media | Sports | Fashion | Tech |
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“REDEF is dedicated to my mother, who nurtured and encouraged my interest in
everything and slightly regrets the day she taught me to always ask ‘why?’” |
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| Jason Hirschhorn |
| CEO & Chief Curator |
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